Using run-time and historical customer profiling and analytics to determine and score customer adoption levels of platform technologies

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present invention include a method, system and computer program product determining and scoring customer adoption levels of platform technologies. The method includes a processor accounting for each one of customer platform technology categories; determining one or more formulas to score and rank customer platform adoption levels; acquiring the relative platform technologies customer adoption levels data; determining a customer platform adoption score for each one of the customer platform technology categories; and determining a customer platform adoption ranking for each one of the customer platform technology categories.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to the testing of software, hardware,firmware, and/or other disciplines, and more specifically, to a method,system and computer program product that implement aspects of workloadand operational profiling, coupled with business analytics, therebyresulting in improvements in the testing of customer software.

In the field of software testing, as in many other technical fields,improvements are constantly being sought, primarily for cost andaccuracy reasons. A fundamental goal of software testing, in theory, isto identify all of the problems in a customer's software program beforethe program is released for use by the customer. However, in reality,this is far from the case as typically a software program is released tothe customer having some number of problems that were unidentifiedduring the software development and testing process.

A relatively more proactive approach to improving software testing issought that employs traditional methods of understanding characteristicsof clients' environments, augmented with a process of data miningempirical systems data. Such client environment and workload profilinganalysis may result in software test improvements based oncharacteristics comparisons between the client and the testenvironments.

SUMMARY

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, acomputer-implemented method includes accounting, by a processor, foreach one of customer platform technology categories; determining, by theprocessor, one or more formulas to score and rank customer platformadoption levels; and acquiring, by the processor, the relative platformtechnologies customer adoption levels data. The method also includesdetermining, by the processor, a customer platform adoption score foreach one of the customer platform technology categories; anddetermining, by the processor, a customer platform adoption ranking foreach one of the customer platform technology categories.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a systemincludes a processor in communication with one or more types of memory,the processor configured to account for each one of customer platformtechnology categories; to determine one or more formulas to score andrank customer platform adoption levels; and to acquire the relativeplatform technologies customer adoption levels data. The processor isalso configured to determine a customer platform adoption score for eachone of the customer platform technology categories, and to determine acustomer platform adoption ranking for each one of the customer platformtechnology categories.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a computerprogram product includes a non-transitory storage medium readable by aprocessing circuit and storing instructions for execution by theprocessing circuit for performing a method that includes accounting foreach one of customer platform technology categories; determining one ormore formulas to score and rank customer platform adoption levels; andacquiring the relative platform technologies customer adoption levelsdata. The method also includes determining a customer platform adoptionscore for each one of the customer platform technology categories, anddetermining a customer platform adoption ranking for each one of thecustomer platform technology categories.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the inventionare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention. For a better understanding of the invention with theadvantages and the features, refer to the description and to thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing environment according to one or moreembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts abstraction model layers according to one or moreembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a processingsystem for practice of the teachings herein; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for determining and scoringcustomer adoption levels of platform technologies in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 1 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 2, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 1) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and a method 96 for determining and scoringcustomer adoption levels of platform technologies in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a processing system 100 forimplementing the teachings herein according to one or more embodiments.The system 100 has one or more central processing units (processors) 101a, 101 b, 101 c, etc. (collectively or generically referred to asprocessor(s) 101). In one embodiment, each processor 101 may include areduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor. Processors 101are coupled to system memory 114 and various other components via asystem bus 113. Read only memory (ROM) 102 is coupled to the system bus113 and may include a basic input/output system (BIOS), which controlscertain basic functions of system 100.

FIG. 3 further depicts an input/output (I/O) adapter 107 and a networkadapter 106 coupled to the system bus 113. I/O adapter 107 may be asmall computer system interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with ahard disk 103 and/or tape storage drive 105 or any other similarcomponent. I/O adapter 107, hard disk 103, and tape storage device 105are collectively referred to herein as mass storage 104. Operatingsystem 120 for execution on the processing system 100 may be stored inmass storage 104. A network adapter 106 interconnects bus 113 with anoutside network 116 enabling data processing system 100 to communicatewith other such systems. A screen (e.g., a display monitor) 115 isconnected to system bus 113 by display adaptor 112, which may include agraphics adapter to improve the performance of graphics intensiveapplications and a video controller. In one embodiment, adapters 107,106, and 112 may be connected to one or more I/O busses that areconnected to system bus 113 via an intermediate bus bridge (not shown).Suitable I/O buses for connecting peripheral devices such as hard diskcontrollers, network adapters, and graphics adapters typically includecommon protocols, such as the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI).Additional input/output devices are shown as connected to system bus 113via user interface adapter 108 and display adapter 112. A keyboard 109,mouse 110, and speaker 111 all interconnected to bus 113 via userinterface adapter 108, which may include, for example, a Super I/O chipintegrating multiple device adapters into a single integrated circuit.

In exemplary embodiments, the processing system 100 includes a graphicsprocessing unit 130. Graphics processing unit 130 is a specializedelectronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to acceleratethe creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to adisplay. In general, graphics processing unit 130 is very efficient atmanipulating computer graphics and image processing, and has a highlyparallel structure that makes it more effective than general-purposeCPUs for algorithms where processing of large blocks of data is done inparallel.

Thus, as configured in FIG. 3, the system 100 includes processingcapability in the form of processors 101, storage capability includingsystem memory 114 and mass storage 104, input means such as keyboard 109and mouse 110, and output capability including speaker 111 and display115. In one embodiment, a portion of system memory 114 and mass storage104 collectively store an operating system to coordinate the functionsof the various components shown in FIG. 3.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention,methods, systems, and computer program products are disclosed fordetermining and scoring customer adoption levels of platformtechnologies.

With reference now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram illustrates a method 200according to one or more embodiments of the present invention fordetermining and scoring customer adoption levels of platformtechnologies. In various embodiments of the present invention, theplatform technologies may comprise software (e.g., operating systemssuch as IBM System z z/OS), hardware or firmware.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the method 200 maybe embodied in software that is executed by computer elements locatedwithin a network that may reside in the cloud, such as the cloudcomputing environment 50 described hereinabove and illustrated in FIGS.1 and 2. In other embodiments, the computer elements may reside on acomputer system or processing system, such as the processing system 100described hereinabove and illustrated in FIG. 3, or in some other typeof computing or processing environment.

Embodiments of the present invention may be described herein inconjunction with a specific software platform, for example, the IBMSystem z z/OS operating system. However, it is to be understood thatvarious other embodiments of the present invention may be described foruse with other specific software platforms or programs, or for use withvarious hardware or firmware platforms.

After a start operation in block 204, an operation in block 208 performsan accounting of all System z technologies categories, including fromeach operational, environmental, workload, application, and/orfunctional areas to be analyzed, with various customer categories orgroupings including by geography, country, continent, industry, etc.,and through multiple metrics or factors with multiple categories orscores. This is done to calculate an overall System z technologiesadoption score or grade. The metrics or factors may be stored in adatabase.

An operation in block 212 determines one or more formulas to score andrank the System z technologies adoption levels. This operation may becarried out, for example, through consultation with subject matterexperts from each operational, environmental, workload, application,and/or functional areas to be analyzed for System z technologiesadoption levels. The formulas may be stored in a database as apreparation or prerequisite for analytics processing.

An operation in block 216 acquires the relative System z technologiesadoption levels data. This operation may be carried out, for example, byutilizing the current and continually expanding customer profiling andanalytics discipline techniques for data collection and curation,including environment or workload and operational questionnaires,interviews, workshops, deep dives, problem history analysis, social andtraditional media analysis, empirical data analysis, and more. Thecustomer System z technologies adoption data may be stored in a databaseas a preparation or prerequisite for analytics processing.

An operation in block 220 determines or calculates the customer System ztechnologies adoption scores for each operational, environmental,workload, application, and/or functional area(s) to be analyzed. Theadoption scores may be stored in a database.

An operation in block 224 determines or calculates the customer System zTechnologies adoption ranking of each operational, environmental,workload, application, and/or functional areas to be analyzed inrelation to various previously collected customer System z technologiesadoption data and through a variety of customer groupings. Thesecustomer groupings can include, for example, by geography, country,culture, industry, etc. as well as the overall global customer set. Thecustomer System z technologies adoption rankings may be stored in adatabase.

An operation in block 228 determines whether or not to provide forvisualization of the customer System z technologies adoptionimplementation in the form of the determined customer scores andrankings and other data. If so, the determined customer scores andrankings and other data are presented for visualization by an operationin block 232.

The System z technologies adoption data/observations, formulas, scores,and/or rankings may be visually presented in a highly intuitive,customizable, negotiable, descriptive, and flexible dashboard typeinterface as provided to a user on a screen display.

An operation in block 236 determines whether or not to generate one ormore reports that include the customer System z technologies adoptionimplementation in the form of the determined customer scores andrankings and other data. If so, the one or more reports are generated byan operation in block 240.

The System z technologies adoption data/observations, formulas, scores,and/or rankings may be presented in a highly intuitive, customizable,negotiable, descriptive, and flexible canned and/or end user designedand generated report(s). Then store these customer System z technologiesadoption levels report specifications and data in a database, for amongother purposes, for current/future statistical analyses and forcurrent/future time series observations and analyses.

The method 200 then branches back to the operation in block 208 toreiterate the customer profiling and analytics of customer System ztechnologies adoption levels as available technologies are maintainedand/or added.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions execute entirely on the user's computer,partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partlyon the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely onthe remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remotecomputer may be connected to the user's computer through any type ofnetwork, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network(WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (forexample, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). Insome embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used for theinterpretation of the claims and the specification. As used herein, theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,”“having,” “contains” or “containing,” or any other variation thereof,are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, acomposition, a mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus thatcomprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only thoseelements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherentto such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus.

As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” preceding an element orcomponent are intended to be nonrestrictive regarding the number ofinstances (i.e., occurrences) of the element or component. Therefore,“a” or “an” should be read to include one or at least one, and thesingular word form of the element or component also includes the pluralunless the number is obviously meant to be singular.

As used herein, the terms “invention” or “present invention” arenon-limiting terms and not intended to refer to any single aspect of theparticular invention but encompass all possible aspects as described inthe specification and the claims.

As used herein, the term “about” modifying the quantity of aningredient, component, or reactant of the invention employed refers tovariation in the numerical quantity that can occur, for example, throughtypical measuring and liquid handling procedures used for makingconcentrates or solutions. Furthermore, variation can occur frominadvertent error in measuring procedures, differences in themanufacture, source, or purity of the ingredients employed to make thecompositions or carry out the methods, and the like. In one aspect, theterm “about” means within 10% of the reported numerical value. Inanother aspect, the term “about” means within 5% of the reportednumerical value. Yet, in another aspect, the term “about” means within10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% of the reported numerical value.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:accounting, by a processor, for each one of customer platform technologycategories, the customer platform technology categories comprisingsoftware, hardware and firmware, the customer platform technologycategories further comprising operational, environmental, workload,application and functional areas; determining, by the processor, one ormore formulas to score and rank customer platform adoption levels basedon consultation with subject matter experts from the operational,environmental, workload, application and functional areas; acquiring, bythe processor, relative platform technologies customer adoption leveldata, wherein acquiring relative platform technologies customer adoptionlevel data comprises utilizing customer profiling and analyticsdiscipline techniques for data collection; determining, by theprocessor, a customer platform adoption score for each one of thecustomer platform technology categories; determining, by the processor,a customer platform adoption ranking for each one of the customerplatform technology categories and by one or more of a plurality ofcustomer groupings, wherein the customer platform adoption ranking is inrelation to previously collected customer adoption data and theplurality of customer groupings comprise geography, country, culture,industry and an overall customer set; and responsive to determining toprovide a visualization of customer technologies adoptionimplementation, displaying the customer platform adoption score for eachone of the customer platform technology categories and the customerplatform adoption ranking for each one of the customer platformtechnology categories in a customizable dashboard type interface.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein a plurality of customercategories comprise geography, country, continent or industry.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising generating, bythe processor, one or more reports comprising the determined customerscore and ranking.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 furthercomprising storing, by the processor, the determined customer score andranking in a database.
 5. A system comprising: a processor incommunication with one or more types of memory, the processor configuredto: account for each one of customer platform technology categories, thecustomer platform technology categories comprising software, hardwareand firmware, the customer platform technology categories furthercomprising operational, environmental, workload, application andfunctional areas; determine one or more formulas to score and rankcustomer platform adoption levels based on consultation with subjectmatter experts from the operational, environmental, workload,application and functional areas; acquire relative platform technologiescustomer adoption level data, wherein acquiring relative platformtechnologies customer adoption level data comprises utilizing customerprofiling and analytics discipline techniques for data collection;determine a customer platform adoption score for each one of thecustomer platform technology categories; determine a customer platformadoption ranking for each one of the customer platform technologycategories and by one or more of a plurality of customer groupings,wherein the customer platform adoption ranking is in relation topreviously collected customer adoption data and the plurality ofcustomer groupings comprise geography, country, culture, industry and anoverall customer set; and responsive to determining to provide avisualization of customer technologies adoption implementation, displaythe customer platform adoption score for each one of the customerplatform technology categories and the customer platform adoptionranking for each one of the customer platform technology categories in acustomizable dashboard type interface.
 6. The system of claim 5 whereina plurality of customer categories comprise geography, country,continent or industry.
 7. The system of claim 5 wherein the processor isfurther configured to generate one or more reports comprising thedetermined customer score and ranking.
 8. The system of claim 5 whereinthe processor is further configured to store the determined customerscore and ranking in a database.
 9. A computer program productcomprising: a non-transitory storage medium readable by a processingcircuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuitfor performing a method comprising: accounting for each one of customerplatform technology categories, the customer platform technologycategories comprising software, hardware and firmware, the customerplatform technology categories further comprising operational,environmental, workload, application and functional areas; determiningone or more formulas to score and rank customer platform adoption levelsbased on consultation with subject matter experts from the operational,environmental, workload, application and functional areas; acquiringrelative platform technologies customer adoption level data, whereinacquiring relative platform technologies customer adoption level datacomprises utilizing customer profiling and analytics disciplinetechniques for data collection; determining a customer platform adoptionscore for each one of the customer platform technology categories;determining a customer platform adoption ranking for each one of thecustomer platform technology categories and by one or more of aplurality of customer groupings, wherein the customer platform adoptionranking is in relation to previously collected customer adoption dataand the plurality of customer groupings comprise geography, country,culture, industry and an overall customer set; and responsive todetermining to provide a visualization of customer technologies adoptionimplementation, displaying the customer platform adoption score for eachone of the customer platform technology categories and the customerplatform adoption ranking for each one of the customer platformtechnology categories in a customizable dashboard type interface. 10.The computer program product of claim 9 wherein a plurality of customercategories comprise geography, country, continent or industry.
 11. Thecomputer program product of claim 9 further comprising generating one ormore reports comprising the determined customer score and ranking.